It credited a rebound in investment banking, growth in Asia and fewer bad debts on loans in the US.

HSBC also says it is making good progress on its restructuring, including cost savings, and has shed 14,000 jobs as part of moves to boost profitability.

Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver said: “We are pleased that the measures that are under our control, we are getting some serious traction on.”

He pointed to Hong Kong, the rest of the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America as showing the benefit, with revenues up 16 percent, 18 percent and seven percent on the year respectively.

Gulliver also highlighted strong performances by the group’s commercial bank and investment bank operations, called Global Banking and Markets.

HSBC, which makes over three quarters of its profits outside Europe and north America, has bounced back more strongly from the 2008 financial crisis than many competitors, helped by its presence in faster-growing emerging markets.